As president of the United States, Donald Trump has supreme authority to launch a nuclear strike and literally no one can stop him.

We can change that. Two members of Congress, Rep. Ted Lieu and Sen. Ed Markey, have proposed urgent legislation to prevent the U.S. president from starting a nuclear war without a declaration of war by Congress.

Trump exposes the terrifying power of a system built for speed and mass destruction at the president's sole discretion. From opening the door to using nuclear weapons in the Middle East to questioning why we have nuclear weapons if we “can’t use” them, Donald Trump has shown just how dangerous it is to let any one person have the unchecked power to destroy the entire world with the push of a button.

Sign the petition and call on Congress to keep us safe by making it illegal for President Trump, or any successor, to start a nuclear war.

To all U.S. Senators and Representatives:

We call on you to take action to ensure that no president can unilaterally launch a nuclear war.

U.S. nuclear launch procedures have been designed for speed, not for democratic decisions. The president (or his designee) is the only person who can order the use of nuclear weapons and there are no checks or balances on that authority. As President Richard Nixon observed in 1974, “I can go back into my office and pick up the telephone and in 25 minutes 70 million people will be dead.”

While it should be inconceivable that any American president would conduct a nuclear first strike, President Trump’s past statements and erratic behavior make it imperative that we put checks and balances on nuclear launch authority. Only Congress can declare war, and that authority should apply to a nuclear first strike as well. Please co-sponsor H.R. 669/S. 200 to make America and the world safer by prohibiting the president from unilaterally starting a nuclear war.